Introducing STEMS (formerly MOPS)
MOPS has been a vibrant ministry to Mothers of Pre-Schoolers here at Evergreen SGV for the past 20 years. Through weekly speakers, small group discussions, and creative activities, MOPS has been encouraging and developing mothers to embrace this nurturing role
according to the Biblical calling of motherhood.
This year marks a big transition in the ministry away from MOPS International to forge an independent in-house ministry to moms under the guidance and covering of Evergreen SGV. There are 3 main reasons for this de-affiliation from MOPS:
1. We have already been operating as an independent, self-sustaining ministry for a while now, without utilizing much of the MOPS resources or materials.
2. We would like to better steward our financial resources to directly benefit our community and achieve more of our ministry goals rather than pay charter fees.
3. We would like to partner less with MOPS and more with our host church, Evergreen SGV, in sharing
resources and benefitting from the church’s leadership and accountability.
The ministry program, goals, and operations look largely unchanged. But we are now known as “STEMS”, which stands for “Serving, Training, and Empowering Moms”. This new name reflects the plant motif of Evergreen and conveys our mission and our target demographic, as we seek to:
· Serve and bless new moms in this unique season of life as well as encourage moms to also step up and serve others.
· Train women to be godly, wise moms and wives according to God’s Word as well as provide opportunities for women to develop their leadership skills and giftings.
· Empower moms by the power of the Holy Spirit to lean on Him for guidance, approval, strength, and rest.
Our logo features a beautiful flower standing tall, reminding us that our roles as mothers can often be seen as the “stems” or “backbones” of our households, providing nourishment and structure to our families. We are able to stand tall and strong, weathering any storm or trial, while being rooted and planted in the rich soil of God’s Word.
Our theme verse this year is Psalm 37:3-7a, which reminds us to Trust in the Lord, Take Delight in Him, Commit our ways to Him, and Rest in Him.
One new change to our program includes offering each caregiver who serves each week a small gift card as a token of our thanks and appreciation for the love and care they show our children. It is such a blessing for us moms to be able to have dedicated kid-free time to nurture our souls and our friendships every Friday morning. We are currently looking for more caregivers, because a large crop of newborns is coming in the Spring. So we would love for you to join our ministry! Please contact Helena Wong at li107@hotmail.com for more information.
STEMS Coordinators:
Christie Chong (xtchong@gmail.com), Allison Quock (awchu2@gmail.com), Crystal Seiler (Ctokushige@gmail.com)